Low-Key Approach Led Wilson to High Places

Although he was a low-profile member of the City Council for seven years, newly appointed 5th District Supervisor Thomas W. Wilson was at the same time evolving as a leader who moved in more influential government circles.

He seldom stood apart on issues that came before the council, but Wilson played a key role in formulating policy at the Orange County Fire Authority, where he is chairman, and as a board member of the Orange County Transportation Authority.

His experience and visibility at the regional level helped make him known in Sacramento, where Gov. Pete Wilson on Wednesday appointed him to the Board of Supervisors.

As chairman of the OCTA finance committee, “he’s been a very important player in dealing with financial institutions,” said agency spokesman Bill Hodge. “He’s traveled back to New York with us when we had to discuss bonds with Wall Street types. He knows finance, no doubt about it.”

Fire Authority spokesman Capt. Scott Brown said it was Wilson’s leadership abilities that got him reelected in July to another year as chairman of the 21-member board.

However, Joe Kerr, president of Orange County Professional Firefighters, complained that Wilson “dominated the Fire Authority board” and was instrumental in getting a controversial proposal approved to streamline paramedic service in areas served by the authority.

Kerr’s group represents firefighters employed by the county and argued against the plan pushed through by Wilson, charging that it amounts to cutbacks in emergency medical service that endanger the community.

According to Hodge, Wilson learned to yield at first to win what he wanted later.

When Wilson served on a 31-member executive committee of the Orange County League of Cities, he fought another member for a seat as an at-large member to the OCTA board.

“One time Tom and another committee member were running for the at-large seat but neither one could get the majority vote needed to win,” recalled Hodge. “Instead of having the committee go through another ballot, Tom graciously conceded so his opponent could get the seat. It was a class act. He later got elected to the board.”

Hodge described Wilson as “a low-key kind of guy who wants to have all the information he can get on an issue and think it through.”

But Kerr of the firefighters union said that Wilson often fails to see both sides of an issue or consider the long-term effects of the policies he supports.

“He accepts what staff gives him as the absolute. He goes with whatever his troops report to him,” said Kerr. “He is often unable to see both sides of an issue or get accurate information about it. He doesn’t ask himself, ‘What will this mean five years down the road?’ ”

While Wilson has grappled with critical issues like the county’s bankruptcy and fire and paramedic protection, his career as a Laguna Niguel councilman wasn’t especially flashy, giving no clue that he would suddenly climb the political ladder.

The only sign of dash is Wilson’s yellow Corvette.

Wilson pushed hard for meat and potatoes issues such as street renovation projects while other council members came up with plans to build parks for dogs and skateboarders.

On the council dais, Wilson was prone to taking copious notes on a scratch pad and correcting mistakes on the minutes of a previous council meeting.

He rarely, if ever, criticized city staff in public. If Wilson wanted to know why a report was late or how a citizen’s complaint was being handled, he generally waited until the next day and made his inquiry in private.

“He’d usually poke his head in the office or call me and say, ‘So, Mr. City Manager, what’s up with Mrs. McGillicudy’s problem,’ ” said City Manager Tim Casey. “I think he believes when there’s disagreement, there’s a way to deal with it that’s respectful and civil.”

Wilson’s vote reflected the council majority, but he usually injected his own opinions.

On a controversial plan to light ball fields at Niguel Middle School that had neighbors up in arms earlier this year, Wilson voted for the lights, but not without suggesting using trees to screen the glare.

“He is well reasoned in a very logical, methodical manner,” said Paul Christiansen, a former Laguna Niguel councilman. “He’s not strident in the way other council members have been here. But he gets things done.”

On a handful of issues over the years, Wilson departed from the council majority.

When his fellow council members supported dropping the county animal control contract last year in favor of using Mission Viejo animal shelter to house strays, Wilson was the lone vote against making the change.

On a council where the perennial verbal sparring between council members Eddie Rose and Mark Goodman has become a spectator sport, Wilson generally stayed out of the fray, occasionally shaking his head at the spectacle.

“You don’t have to be a fire and brimstone type to be a leader,” said Laguna Hills Councilman Randal J. Bressette, who worked with Wilson on the League of Cities. “You can be a strong leader by having good ideas and strong principles and I’ve always found Tom to be a person who made the right choices.”

Wilson was part of the original City Council that was elected when Laguna Niguel incorporated in 1989. He served as mayor for two consecutive years in 1991 and 1992.

His departure leaves the city scrambling to fill his seat. Only two weeks ago, Wilson was reelected to a four-year term.

Casey said that a special election probably would not be held until June, leaving the city without a fifth council member until then. The council could also decide to appoint someone to fill Wilson’s seat.